The Baha'is of Egypt have been subjected to persecution and systematic oppression. While their quest for equality has been finally heard by many of their fellow citizens, there remain challenges and obstacles to the implementation of laws intended to grant them their full civil rights and equal opportunity in their society. With the emergence of the new Egypt, they seek to be given the opportunity to actively engage in rebuilding their nation.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

A very revealing and fascinating article, authored by Amil Imani, regarding the background of Iran's president was published in the fall of 2007 in the daily American Thinker. The article carried the title "Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?"

In view of the current intensification of Iran's efforts to destroy and eliminate the Baha'i community of Iran, manifested by its most recent action in arresting the entire leadership of Iran's Baha'i community, it may be timely to point out the information contained in that article. It must be pointed out though that Amil Imani is not a Baha'i, but rather is a Muslim, native of Iran.

Mr. Imani begins his article by writing:

To understand Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's mindset and behavior require close scrutiny of the elaborate and intricate theology of Hujetieh Shiism, perhaps the most fundamentalist of the numerous Shiite sects.

In the 1950s, a group of Islamic clergy led by Sheikh Mahmoud Halabi (a close associate of Ayatollah Khomeini) formed a society called the Anjoman-e Khayryyehye Hujjatiyyah-ye Mahdaviat (Charitable Society of the Mahdi), based in Mashhad, Iran. The Hujjatyyah membership was mostly composed by the bazaar-i businessmen and fanatical mullahs. Among many things, they were against the communists, Marxists, and atheists. Their overarching "raison d'être," however, was to prepare the world for the upcoming of the 12th Imam -- the Mehdi.

He then addresses the plight of the Baha'i population of Iran, which constitutes the largest religious minority in that country, by stating:

However, the most important immediate agenda item on their list was to harass and persecute the Baha'is, a religious group representing a small percentage of Iran's population. In fact, the Hujjatiyyah-y's alternative name became "The anti-Baha'i Society" (Anjuman-e Zidd-e Baha'iyat). They collectively worked for a single purpose: the eradication of Baha'is.

The terrible plight of the Baha'is in Iran is particularly heart-wrenching, since they are the largest non-Muslim population in the country and have been, from day one, severely brutalized by Muslims. Baha'i teachings of tolerance and openness to science are anathema to the Islamofascists on many levels, but the history of the faith includes direct challenges to the theological legitimacy of the mullahs. These slaveholders find the Baha'i faith a threat to their own version of Islam and the absolute theocratic power it puts their hands.

As to President Ahmadinejad aspirations, the author points out:

The egomaniac President Ahmadinejad is a member of Hujjatiyyah. He sees himself as the personal vassal of the Mahdi-Messiah or Hidden Imam, with whom he has fantasized tête-à-têtes frequently.

Ahmadinejad, a man driven by his religion, has a spiritual advisor in Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi (the defacto leader of the Hojatieh). The President's advisor is known for his extremist views on Islam and promotes suicide bombings and attacks on civilians in the West. There is only view of Islam for him. He once said, "...if anyone tells you their own interpretation of Islam, punch them in the mouth!"

After an elaborate analysis of the character and intentions of Iran's president, the author concluded his article with these very alarming and frightening words:

Ahmadinejad and his ilk are not interested in any negotiation, any compromise or any live-and-let-live final solution. They are determined to be the soldiers of Mahdi come-what-may. They have no problem with the total destruction of the world. They are headed for a life of eternal bliss in Allah's paradise. They hardly care, even rejoice, if the rest of humanity is subjected to a tragic death in the nuclear, biological and chemical wasteland of planet earth.

Humanity cannot afford and must not ignore the emergence of the final threat to its very existence on this planet.

To read this informative article in its entirety, please click here....

9 comments:

Very thought provoking. That the Baha'i Faith would inspire a group to exist primarily for its extinction is interesting to consider as if it were simply some irrelevant sect no one would care so much about it. Surely there are better things for such groups to do with their time.

In addition to the goal of exterminating the Baha'is out of this "theological" hatred, it may also be time to use the old scapegoat again to get the people distracted from their daily discontent.

For the last 160 plus years, every time the government of Iran needed a distraction(whether at the time of the shah or later), they cowardly used the peaceful community of Baha'is as their easy scapegoat.

Islam, the “religion of peace,” is anything but peaceful, particularly when it comes to other religions. To the oppressive Islam, there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet—the seal of the prophets at that. Grudgingly, Islam barely tolerates people of the book—namely Jews and Christians—but no other faith is entitled to any fair treatment. In Iran, the force-imposed Islam finds it expedient to extend its limited tolerance to the original religion of the indigenous people—the Zoroastrians.

The terrible plight of the Baha’is in Iran is particularly heartwrenching, since they are the largest non-Muslims in the country and have, from day one, been severely brutalized by Muslims. The Baha’i faith dates back to the middle of the 19th century when an Iranian nobleman, Baha’u’llah, founded the new faith as an independent religion—a very painful thorn in the side of a ruling vested clergy with a stranglehold on the masses.

The slaveholder, Islam, finds the Baha’i faith a threat to its very existence, since many of the Baha’i teachings are anathema to that of Islamofascism—the favorite version of Islam. Below is a brief list that contrasts some tenets of the two beliefs. Beliefs are impetus to action and when beliefs clash, people clash.

* The chosen people. Muslims believe that they are the chosen people of God and recognize no other system of belief as legitimate. Baha’is believe that all people are the chosen people of God—that there is only one God, one religion of God, and one people of God, the entire human race.

* Progressive Revelation. Muslims contend that Muhammad is the seal of the Prophets, that God sent his best and final messenger to mankind, and any other claimant is an imposter worthy of death. Baha’is believe that God has always sent his emissaries to educate humanity and shall do so in the future. They believe that Baha’u’llah is the latest in that line of prophets.

* Independent thinking. Blind imitation and obedience to any authority is anathema to Baha’is. Baha’is believe that the human mind and the gift of reason should guide the person in making decisions about all matters. To this end, they place a premium on education and independent investigation of truth. Baha’is consider the education of women as important as that of men, since women are the early teachers of children and can play their valuable part by being themselves educated. By contrast, Muslims look to religious authorities for guidance and often deprive women of education and independent thinking.

In recognition of the importance of independent thinking, no one is born Baha’i. Once one is born to a Muslim, he is considered Muslim for life. If he decides to leave Islam, he is labeled apostate and, apostates are automatically condemned to death. The slaveholders are intent on keeping all their slaves as well as their issues. By contrast, every child born in a Baha’i family is required to make his own independent decision regarding whether or not he wishes to be a Baha’i. Freedom to choose and independent thinking are cherished values of the Baha’is, in stark contrast to that of Muslims.

* Harmony of religion and science. Baha’is believe that truth transcends all boundaries. Scientific and religious truth emanates from the same universal source. They are like the two sides of the same coin. To Baha’is, science and religion are as two wings of a bird that enable human flight toward the summit of its potential; that any religious belief that contradicts science is superstition. Muslims believe that their religious dogma, irrespective of its proven falsehood, is superior to that of science. The Muslims literally believe, for instance, that Muhammad unsheathed his sword and split the moon in half and many, many more scientifically-untenable views.

* Equality of men and women. Muslims hold the view, expressly stated in the Quran, that men are rulers over women. Baha’is fully reject this notion and subscribe to the unconditional equality of the two sexes. This Baha’i principle emancipates one half of humanity from the status of subservient domestic to that of a fully participating and self-actualized human. It undermines the heartless exploitation of women and demands that women be treated with all due respect under the law.

* Participatory decision-making. Islam, by its very nature, is patriarchal and authoritarian. Baha’is believe in the value of decision making through the practice of consultation—a process where everyone, irrespective of any and all considerations—has a voice in making decisions. This participatory decision-making principle abrogates a major prerogative of Islamic mullahs who have been the great beneficiaries of dictating matters to their liking and advantage. Also, at all levels of society, including the family, all affected members have the opportunity, even the responsibility, to make their views known without fear. Baha’i teachings clearly emphasize this commitment to a democratic decision-making in their scripture, “The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions.”

* World-embracing outlook. Baha’is love their native countries, yet extend that same love to the entire planet and its people. Baha’is believe that love has no limit and need not have limits. One can love his country and love the world at the same time. This love of the world is frequently used as a pretense by the Islamofascists to accuse the Baha’is of Iran as traitors to their own homeland. It is for this reason that the present mullahs ruling of Iran falsely claim that the Baha’is are agents of the Zionist Israel and its American sponsor.

* Eradication of prejudice. Prejudice of any type is alien to the Baha'i faith and severely undermines its pivotal principle of the oneness of humanity. Muslims are notorious when it comes to prejudice. Prejudice against others is thoroughly exploited by the Islamofascist. In contrast, Baha’i scriptures say, “…again, as to religious, racial, national and political bias: all these prejudices strike at the very root of human life; one and all they beget bloodshed, and the ruination of the world. So long as these prejudices survive, there will be continuous and fearsome wars.”

The above is a short treatment of some of the salient features of the two belief systems—one dating back some fourteen centuries and one of relatively recent origin. It is understandable that the intolerant defunct fascist Islam sees its death in a competing ideology vastly at odds with its barbaric tenets.

It is of further interest that the same land, Iran, which gave the world the magnificent religion of Zoroaster, once again has given birth to another religion of humanistic values.

We do not promote religion here. Yet, we feel that there are many religions practiced throughout the world, with beliefs and practices that are, by far, more human and humane than Islam.

We also feel for our long-suffering Baha’i compatriots in Iran. They have been savagely brutalized for over a century and a half through the demonic machinations of the despicable mullahs. They continue to pay dearly for their audacity to believe in human dignity. It is the duty of all free and enlightened humans to confront Islamofascism—the deathly ideology that is once again on a rampage; an ideology that is creeping out of its traditional zone of terror to the rest of the world; an ideology that holds the promise of destroying, in its path, all that is dear to enlightened humanity.

Mr. Imani,Thank you for your in depth analysis. One must say though that current interpretation of Islam by the extremists is contrary to the true spirit of Islam as it was intended. Also, one of the principal teachings of the Baha'i Faith is progressive revelation, and the fact that there are differences between the two religions (or other religions for that matter) should not detract from the station of these religions.

This is clarified in the following quotes:“All the Prophets of God,” asserts Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Íqán, “abide in the same tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are seated upon the same throne, utter the same speech, and proclaim the same Faith.” From the “beginning that hath no beginning,” these Exponents of the Unity of God and Channels of His incessant utterance have shed the light of the invisible Beauty upon mankind, and will continue, to the “end that hath no end,” to vouchsafe fresh revelations of His might and additional experiences of His inconceivable glory. To contend that any particular religion is final, that “all Revelation is ended, that the portals of Divine mercy are closed, that from the daysprings of eternal holiness no sun shall rise again, that the ocean of everlasting bounty is forever stilled, and that out of the Tabernacle of ancient glory the Messengers of God have ceased to be made manifest” would indeed be nothing less than sheer blasphemy.

“They differ,” explains Bahá’u’lláh in that same epistle, “only in the intensity of their revelation and the comparative potency of their light.” And this, not by reason of any inherent incapacity of any one of them to reveal in a fuller measure the glory of the Message with which He has been entrusted, but rather because of the immaturity and unpreparedness of the age He lived in to apprehend and absorb the full potentialities latent in that Faith.

We all need scapegoats. It is in our fabric. It is a potent human disposition to blame others for our failings. Without scapegoats to blame, we are forced to look at ourselves for our problems. Examining ourselves can be very disturbing, particularly when we either lack the resources or the willingness to tackle them. So, we take the good old easy way out of the mess by shifting our focus to the outside world for targets to blame.

Look at young children. They are expert blamers. They always have an answer, someone or something to blame in self-defense. We, the chronological adults, don’t completely abandon our childish strategy of ascribing blames to external sources. We simply do so with a greater degree of sophistication by finding, if at all possible, a grain or two of truth to legitimize our attributions.

No one or group is immune from practicing scapegoating. Yet, some individuals and cultures seem to nurture this disposition to an art form, while others resort to it more sparingly.

The magnitude of blaming others correlates with the degree of frustration and failure. As frustration or failures surge, so does the defense mechanism of blame.

Sadly, the Jewish people have been used as scapegoats for many centuries by a variety of non-Jews. Regrettably, Muslims and Islamists, for their parts, have adopted scapegoating as an article of faith. The Muslims blame the Jews for all kinds of heinous things, dating back to the time of Muhammad himself. They say that the Jews of Medina betrayed the holy prophet by their treachery. They charged the poor exorbitant sums for their goods, did no productive work, yet made fortunes through money lending. To make matters worse, the Jews refused to embrace Muhammad’s religion, they say.

Hence, following the example of Muhammad, many Muslim societies have been blaming the Jews for everything and find them deserving of victimization. The litany of atrocities committed against the Jews by the followers of Muhammad is long indeed.

Regrettably, ascribing blame to others and legitimizing their victimization has become a way of life with the rabid Islamists. As sick as scapegoating is, it confers advantages to its practitioners. For one, it rallies the faithful against an enemy portrayed as depraved and dangerous. That’s how Hitler and his gang of thugs aroused the German nation against the Jews. They falsely, yet successfully, blamed the Jews for Germany’s economic problems.

The Islamists, for their part, are still playing the Jewish blame card as best they can. The State of Israel, by its very existence has provided the inept habitually devious Islamists a palpable target to blame and attack. Yet, Israel still not only exists, but thrives in their midst. None of the dastardly actions of the Islamists has been effective at realizing their dream of pushing the children of Israel into the sea.

The bombastic bellicose threats of the monkey Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is little more than braying of an overloaded donkey. Even if this appointed villain president gets the atomic bomb, the Iranian people will hopefully secure his leash firmly in his cage and prevent him from embarking on mass genocide.

In the meantime, failure and frustration is engulfing Iran under the rule of the devious corrupt Islamist mullahs. During a span of thirty years of Islamic rule, Iran has achieved the dubious distinction of being on the top or near the top on numerous indices of misery. People are fed up and frustrated. The conniving parasitic mullahs are loath to give up their privilege and power, hence, the need for homegrown target of blame.

The power-intoxicated corrupt-to-the bone-ruling mullahs need further scapegoats to divert people’s attention, to fuel the fire of enemy-making that would rally the faithful and keep them in line. Baha’is are perfect for the part. They are so handy. Some 300,000 of them live right in Iran itself. While Ahmadinejad fires blanks of hot-air volleys at Israel, the local mullahs victimize the innocent Baha’is in towns and cities throughout the land.

The mullahs justify their horrific deeds by labeling the Baha’is as enemies of Islam, spies for Israel, and outright heretics worthy of death. What makes the Baha’is “heretics?” Well, in truth, much of the Baha’i beliefs and practices are indeed heretical to the Islam of the mullahs.

These turbaned villains and their hired thugs have done a great job of basically eliminating all internal oppositions by their brutality. They have also chased the majority of the Iranian Jews out of the country by making their life as miserable as possible. The few remaining Jews are still used as whipping boys from time to time. Yet, the Baha’is with their much greater number and their steadfast resistance to the pressures of the Islamofascists, present much more attractive target. In a real sense, the Baha’is who have always been brutalized by the Shi’a Islamists have now doubled up as Jewish substitutes.

The genocidal Islamists have been doing all they can to completely wipe out the Baha’is in Iran as well as everywhere else in the world that their blood-drenching hand can reach. The Islamic government condones and promotes every measure of oppression against the Baha'is. The Islamists don’t even spare the dead. They bulldoze and even uproot the trees in Baha’is cemeteries.

Interestingly enough, the holy places of the Baha’is, where the founder of their religion was buried in 1892—long before the formation of the State of Israel—is a common home for the Jews and Baha’is. The two people live in the Promised Land with the determination to never ever allow any tyrannical order, religious or political, to succeed in its evil designs of using them as scapegoats or implementing its genocidal objectives.

It is incumbent upon all decent people of the world to condemn, by word and action, the Medieval Islamists and any order that brutalizes any people, anywhere in the world.

Free Baha'is in Iran Now!

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“All the Prophets of God,” asserts Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Íqán, “abide in the same tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are seated upon the same throne, utter the same speech, and proclaim the same Faith.” From the “beginning that hath no beginning,” these Exponents of the Unity of God and Channels of His incessant utterance have shed the light of the invisible Beauty upon mankind, and will continue, to the “end that hath no end,” to vouchsafe fresh revelations of His might and additional experiences of His inconceivable glory. To contend that any particular religion is final, that “all Revelation is ended, that the portals of Divine mercy are closed, that from the daysprings of eternal holiness no sun shall rise again, that the ocean of everlasting bounty is forever stilled, and that out of the Tabernacle of ancient glory the Messengers of God have ceased to be made manifest” would indeed be nothing less than sheer blasphemy.

“They differ,” explains Bahá’u’lláh in that same epistle, “only in the intensity of their revelation and the comparative potency of their light.” And this, not by reason of any inherent incapacity of any one of them to reveal in a fuller measure the glory of the Message with which He has been entrusted, but rather because of the immaturity and unpreparedness of the age He lived in to apprehend and absorb the full potentialities latent in that Faith.(Shoghi Effendi: The World Order of Baha'u'llah)